Werewolf Backgrounds
Ancestors *max of 3 at creation *max of 5 with XP *allows character once per day to add ancestor dice to any non "in-combat" roll This is your character's ability to commune with and be guided by their ancestors or ancestral recall. Roleplay the "how" of this as you like. In terms of game mechanics, once per IRL day of play you can add ancestor dice to any non-combat role of your choice to draw on their wisdom and knowledge, adding it to your own. If you would like this ancestral recall to be an actual -ancestor spirit- and not simply a "primal sense", you will also need to take the background Familar Spirit/Spirit Companion. Caern *max of 3 at creation *max of 5 with XP *allows character to add +1 dice per dot to social-based rolls with caern spirits and sept elders but also causes character to lose 1 dice per dot in social-based rolls with caern spirits/sept elders at the rival caern. *cannot be taken by anruth, ronin or anyone below rank of cliath with established membership in a sept. This heavily revised background does not allow a Garou or its pack to "own" a caern, but it represents the connection they feel to the spiritual resonance of their sept. It should mirror their dedication to it and the responsibility placed by sept leaders and spirits in their protection of it. Anruth and Ronin cannot take this background nor can Garou who have not gone through thier Rite of Passage. For each dot of Caern, Garou get +1 dice for social rolls with spirits and elders at their caern but they get -1 dice for social rolls with the spirits and elders at the rival caern. Fetish *max 1 level 3 fetish at creation *cannot possess more individual fetishes then permanant dots of gnosis *additional fetishes of 1-3 can be acquired via roleplay as gifts from other characters or from a theurge able to craft them without staff approval and spending 2xp per level of fetish. *fetishes of 4+ are rare and require prior approval to be acquired. A fetish is an item of some sort of a spirit bound within it by a theurge. They can be taken into the umbra automatically. To simplify play, fetishes will either shift with the Garou (fetish necklace, bracelet or collar appears in all forms) or will appear as a scarred glyph tatoo on hip or shoulder until summoned to manifest. Fetishes can be summoned/sealed into skin by Shifters at will as automatic action (speed of 1 rage round). Kinfolk *each individual dot counts as one kinfolk who is actual character played by self or someone else. *unlimited at creation *unlimited with XP (2 xp per dot) *kinfolk can be allies or enemies but no additional backgrounds are required- just roleplay it out. Blood relatives, mates, wards or other kinfolk that you consider "yours" and feel a responsibility towards. That doesn't mean they necessarily like you or consider you "theirs" in return. Unless they are just background information in history, human kinfolk need to actual characters (yours or someone elses) that can be interracted with via scene. If a kinfolk dies or is retired/dropped, then the dot of kinfolk is lost. Having kinfolk provides a slight amount of status, especially when the kinfolk is a fertile female mate or young children. Lupusand child kinfolk under the age of 5-6 do not need their own sheets and handles and can just be part of the prose described in scenes. Past Lives *can be taken up to 3 at creation *can be increased to max of 5 with HST approval based on consistent roleplay & developed past life story *similar to Ancestors; may add past life dice to any combat/social challenge roll once per day. *must take the flaw Flashbacks for each dot you take in Past Lives (you gain the freebies at creation) Unlike ancestral recall, you are channeling the memories of a previous incarnation and doing so to overcome a foe of some kind. This experience tends to be more vivid and personalized- the flaw Flashbacks comes into play specifically with this background. Before utilizing past lives, roll a 1d10. If it comes up a 1, flashbacks activate and the character is caught up in a vision or hallucination of the past that disrupts whatever they were doing.and they freeze in place- taking damage of any kind (from a slap to something more serious) will typically disrupt the flashback. Players with Past Lives can also voluntarily roleplay out flashbacks in non combat situations for added drama to their scenes. Past Lives/Flashbacks and Nightmares can be combined for dramatic roleplay opportunities. Pure Breed *must be taken at creation *All tribes except Bonegnawers and ronin can buy 1-3 dots of Pure Breed *Black Furies, Fenrir, Fianna, Shadow Lords can buy up to 4 dots of Pure Breed with good concept/history. *Red Talons & Wendigo can buy up to 5 dots of Pure Breed with good concept/history. *Silver Fangs need 3 free dots of Pure Breed and can buy up to two more with good concept/history *each dot of Pure Breed allows a Garou +1 dice to all social-based rolls with all Garou + tribal totem (and its brood) + kinfolk of their tribe. Both your physical and spiritual lineage/pedigree among the Garou. There is much less focus on the "biology" of Pure Breed and more focus on the "spirituality" of Pure Breed in Dusk compared to TC. While Garou and kinfolk with Pure Breed are more likely to have a Trueborn child, there is no actual pure breed gene. Pure Breeding or tribal purity is marked by not only how a character looks but in the nature of their spirit. For example: Silver Fangs with high Pure Breed should be more affected by the Secret of Kingship (and accompanying lunacy) than those with less, Red Talons with high Pure Breed will never participate in homid social rituals like clothes, eating with silverware, mating a homid. Metis rarely have high pure breed despite being more in touch with their crinos nature- they are viewed as spiritually "flawed" by the Nation and tribal totems. Pure Breed cannot be gained in-game but it can be lost: if a character becomes a ronin, part of the ritual that casts them from the nation also rips away their Pure Breed; their children might still be born with it. See How Pure Breed Works for additional information. Also, for Silver Fangs the attributes associated with Pure Breed can vary between House in Dusk- see The Silver Fangs of Dusk. Resources ﻿*can be taken to 3 at creation by homids besides Bone Gnawers, Silent Striders * Lupus should never have personal resources- that's what sponging off allies and packmates is for. *Metis should only have personal resources above one for a really good reason. *Even Bone Gnawers & Silent Striders can buy resources up to 3 with XP. *Glasswalkers can purchase up to 5 dots of resources with good in-game reasons. Your personal wealth/income and ability to buy your own possessions. Typically, Garou rely upon their kinfolk to provide them with financial resources. This is true for even the Silver Fangs and Glasswalkers. If a character has friendly kinfolk or packmates with personal resources, it can be assumed that they have access to at least some if not all of it. Garou really shouldn't own their own cars, homes, or collect a lot of "stuff" the way humans and even kinfolk do. High Rage + primal urges do very bad things to "stuff" that are not fetishes. Rites ﻿*unlimited at creation except that level of rite learned cannot exceed ritual knowledge *unlimited by XP except that level of rite cannot exceed ritual knowledge. *post-creation, it takes one week per level to master a rite and no other rites can be learned during that time. *rites can be learned from other Garou; this can be roleplayed out, even if in just a solo. *some rare or "special" tribal rites and such may require HST approval. A list of these will be composed. Describes the number and/or level of rites you have learned- the level is limited by your Rituals knowledge. You may take more than 5 dots of rites at creation for cliath characters; homid cubs may have Rite of Talisman Dedication if their mentor teaches it to them; pre-change cubs cannot have rites. Spirit Heritage *﻿max 3 at creation *max of 5 with XP; increasing above 3 requires HST approval and very good story reasons. For all that the Garou are born to flesh, they are half spirit, and share a strong kinship with the spirit world. This is especially true for Garou with this background -- they resonate strongly with one particular type of spirit, and spirits of that type will usually respond positively to them, seeing the Garou as one of them. All social rolls for dealing with that type of spirit gain bonus dice equal to the level of the background. At low levels, only the spirits are likely to pick up on your bond, but at the higher levels, it becomes clear, even manifesting in the character's appearance in the Umbra. Spirit Network This background is like contacts except involves major and minor spirits in the local area rather than humans. It is most common among Theurge, although occasionally Garou of another auspice might develop it. Note that Garou new to the area cannot begin play with this background. Rather than individual spirits, each dot represents a different local area in the Dusk setting which currently stretches roughly 100 sq miles. A list of local areas is forthcoming. Totem ﻿*max 5 at creation *max 5 with XP; all characters who want to join a pack and experience the Rite of Totem should have at least dot of totem first. Pack and Caern totems are aspects of powerful Umbrood spirits that are willing to intimately ally themselves with shapeshifter packs. They offer many gifts and advantages to those they patronize but have their own bans they expect of their followers. The Umbrood make different types of pacts with Garou than they do with other Fera, with Dream Speakers and with the Nunnehi. The traditional Rite of the Totem works exclusively to bind Garou into a pack. The creation of other rites to allow for "mixed packs" of Garou, Fera, kinfolk with gnosis, kinfolk sorcerers with mana (mana=gnosis in HST's paradigm), kinfolk changelings with the nunnehi version of totem would take a lot of long-term roleplay and need to involve multiple knowledgeable characters making some amazing dice rolls along the way but isn't completely out of the question. We'll see. Category:Werewolf Category:Rules Category:House Rules Category:Creation Category:Backgrounds